Tampa Bay Rays vs. Washington Nationals – 9/15/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Tuesday in MLB action from Tropicana Field. 

This will be the first installment of a quick two-game set between these teams this week. The Nationals are coming out of a series versus the Braves over the weekend. Washington won only one of those games, an 8-7 victory on Friday. As for the Rays, they played the Red Sox in their last series. Tampa Bay split that set at two games apiece. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Nationals’ top hitter this season is Juan Soto, with 11 homers, 31 RBI, 40 hits, 27 runs and a .354 batting average. Trea Turner is also doing well with nine homers, 28 RBI, a .348 average, 38 runs and 13 doubles, and Asdrubal Cabrera has 23 RBI, 16 runs and a .234 BA. 

For the Tuesday starting pitcher role, the Nationals will send out Anibal Sanchez. In his eight starts this season, Sanchez is 2-4 with a 6.81 ERA and 30 Ks in 38.1 innings of work. On his MLB career, Sanchez is 110-112 with a 4.04 ERA and 1713 Ks in 1933.2 innings total. 

Over on the Rays’ side, they’ve found some solid offense this season in a few places. Brandon Lowe leads the team on 12 homers with 30 RBI, 30 runs and a .258 batting average. Willy Adames is hitting .282 this year with 40 hits, 24 runs and 15 RBI. As for Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, he’s notched seven homers with 21 RBI but is hitting just .198 on the year. 

For the Tuesday starter role, the Rays are going with John Curtiss. In 12 games (one start) this year Curtiss is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA and 18 Ks in 17.2 innings. Over 30 games in his MLB career Curtiss is 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA and 36 Ks in 35.0 innings. 

The Nationals are 20-8 in their last 28 Tuesday games and 31-14 in their last 45 games versus a team with a winning record. Washington is 2-6 in their last eight games during game one of a series and 7-24 in their last 31 games versus a right-handed starter. 

Meanwhile, the Rays are 7-1 in their last eight interleague home games and 5-1 in their last six games after an off day. Tampa Bay is 7-2 in the last nine Tuesday games and 9-2 in their last 11 games following a loss. 

Pick: Going Rays here. Granted, Sanchez did okay versus the Rays in his last start, posting three runs on four hits in five innings during a win. That said, Curtiss has done a solid job in 2020 and should be good for a couple of opener innings here. Beyond that, there’s not much to worry about when it comes to the Tampa Bay pitching staff; three or four runs here should do it for the Rays.